Chain tightener or stump puller



May 12; 1925. J H. M, DIXON CHAIN TIGHTENEB OR STUMP FULLER flied July 31. 1924 Patented May 12, 1925.,

UNITED STATE PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY M. nrxon, or wns'rrom'r, TENNESSEE.

l i CHAIN Tran-Tennis on; s'rmrrr FULLER] Application filed Julytl, 1924, Serial No. 729,333.

To all wkomt'z may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY MADISON DIXON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Vestpoint, in the county of Law; rence and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Chain Tighte ners or Stump Pullers, of; which the tollowing is a specification, refer ence being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to strain applying devices, and particularly to devices for stretching wire, pulling stumps, or performing Iikeoperations.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a very simple, strong, compact and easily operated wire stretcher which is so constructed that it secures great leverage and which is provided with a clutch adapted to automatically take up'the chain as the wire is being stretched and hold the chain taut while the lever is taking a new bite.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which is of such simple- Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same, showing its manner of operation; I

Figure 3 is'a transverse section through the forward end of the device on a hori zontal planet Figure 4 is a top plan view of the forward'end of the device;

Figure 5 is a front end elevation; r a Figure 6 is a perspective view of one vot' the clutch jaws;

Figure 7 is a sectional view through the handle on the line 717 of Figure 2;

Referring to these drawings, 10 designates the lever. of my device which is T-shaped in cross section and which is formed at one end with the transversely extending barrel 11 having a bore 12. The handle 10, as before remarked, is T-shaped in cross section for the greater portion of its length but toward the end remote from the barrel the side flanges of the handle are bent around so that the handle is circular, as at 13. That end of the handle which is formed with the barrel 11 is provided with the curved claws 14:. Passing through the barrel is a large pin 15 which is held in place by a cotter pin 16. A U-shaped shackle 18 has eyes at its ends through which the pin passes and which is adapted to be connected to any suitable anchor.

Disposed between the eyes 19 of the shackle and the ends of the barrel 11 are arms 20, each of these arms being formed at its inner end with an eye through which the pin passes. The outer ends of these arms, as illustrated in Figure 3. are formed with hinge beads 21. Disposed between the arms are a pair of clutchjaws 22. These jaws at their extremities are formed with chain slots 23 and the jaws are slightly curved. The outer ends of these jaws are formed with angularly projecting ears' 2% and 25, the ears being perforated to align with the apertures in the base 21 and for the passage of a bolt 26. The ear 24is also provided inward of the first namedaperture with a slight recess or aperture 27. i

Attached to the hinge beads 21 is a ring 28 which is disposed with its center in coincidence with the center of the two jaws 22. This ring acts as a chain guide. Mounted upon the inside of the arms 20 are the springs 29 which bear against the jaws 22 and 'urge these jaws toward each othern Rotatably mounted upon the bolts 26 are the two arms 30 and 31, each of these arms having a pin 32 which extends into the sockets or recesses 27. The outer end of one of these arms 31 is formed with an upwardly projecting pin 33, while the outer end of the other of these arms is formed with a yoke or elongated loop 34 through which the pin passes, this loop portion of the arm being deflected upward. This'link is extended beyond its pivotal point to form ahandle 35. It is obvious that when this'handle 35' is moved in a counter-clockwise direction in Figure 3, it will act toshift bothof the aws outward, that is away from each other, and that when thehandle is released the springs 29 will cause both the jaws to close upon each other. The jaws will move outward to permit the passage of a chain under the action of the lever, but when this chain is slacked the jaws will act as a clutch to prevent further reyerse movement of the chain. By shifting the handle 35 manually, it is ill possible to open the jaws to permit the passage of the chain in the reverse direction.

The practical use of this device will be obvious from what has gone before. The shackle 18 may be engaged with an anchor and a chain which is attached in the usual manner to the length of fence or to any object upon which strain is to be placed. This chain is then brought between the jaws 22, the links of the chain passing through the ring 28 and through the slots in the jaws 22 and the chain is engaged with the claw 14, a transverse link of the chain engaging behind the claw. The lever 10 is then moved, which places strain upon the chain, anddraws it forward and the jaws 22 tend to permit the movement of the chain. When the lever has been moved over the full amount and a new hold is desired to be taken, the lever is moved reversely but the chain will be engaged by the clutch jaws 22 and held from any reverse movement while the lever moves backward and takes a new hold upon the chain. By continuing this motion, the fence or other arti cle may be given any desired strain. The lever is sufficiently powerful so that this device may be used as a stump puller, and obviously the device may be made of any suitable size so as to secure any desired power and strength for various purposes. It will be seen that the pull on the chain is almost in line with the shackle 18 so that relatively great power is secured from this device.

\Vhile I have illustrated certain details of construction and arrangement of parts which I believe to be particularly effective,

, I do not wish to be limited thereto as it is obvious that it might be changed in many ways without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim 1. A chain tightener of the character described comprising a lever having a claw at one end. a pivot pin passing through the lever adjacent the claw, a shackle connected to said pivot pin, arms pivoted upon the pivot pin and disposed on each side of the lever and extending forward therefrom, the claw of said lever extending down between the arms, and a chain clutch mounted upon the extremities of'the arms.

' 2. A chain tightener of the character described comprising a lever having a claw at one end, a pivot pin passing through the lever adjacent the claw, a shackle connected to said pivot pin, arms pivoted upon the pivotpin and extending forward therefrom, chain clutching jaws mounted upon the extremities of the arms, said jaws converging toward the claw, and springs urging the j aws to a closed position.

3. A. chain tightener of the character described comprising a lever having a claw at one end. a pivot pin passing through the lever adjacent the claw, a shackle connected to said pivot pin, arms pivoted upon the pivot pin and extending forward therefrom,

chain clutching jaws mounted upon the extremities of the arms. said jaws converging toward the claw, springs urging the jaws to a closed position, and manually operable levers operatively connected to the jaws to open them.

1-. A chain tightener of the character described comprising a lever having a claw at one end. a pivot pin passing through the lever adjacent the claw, a shackle connected to said pivot pin, arms pivoted upon the pivot pin, the extremities of the arms re mote from the pivot pin being formed with beads extending at right angles to the pivot pin, a pair of jaws converging toward the pivot pin and having upper and lower perforated ears. the perforations registering with the beads, pivot pins passing through said beads and through the ears, levers mounted upon the pivot pins and connected to the ears to shift the aws, springs urging the jaws to a closed position, and a ring having ears mounted between said jaws and disposed in advance of the aws.

5. A chain. tightener of the character described comprising a lever having a claw at one end and formed to provide a hollow barrel extending at right angles to the length of the lever, a pivot pin passing through said barrel. a shackle swingingly engaging the pivot pin, a pair of forwardly directed arms swingingly engaging the pivot pin, a chain clutch mounted upon the forward ends of the arms, resilient means urging the chain clutch to a closed position, manually operable means for opening the chain clutch, and a guide ring operatively supported upon thearms in advance of said chain clutch.

In testimony whereof I .hereunto afiix my signature.

HENRY M. DIXON. 

